The Wizard of Oz performance, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday 6/12: Birdwalk in Fort Dupont Park, 9-10 a.m.

Friday 6/18: Report Cards Distributed. Students whose families are vacationing or have previous plans for the week of June 21, please let us know and we will send home their June Memory Books and end of year packets.

Sunday 6/20: Brent Year-End Picnic, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Brent Day at the Nationals Game, 1:35 p.m.

Monday-Tuesday 6/21-22: Uniform-Free Days. Uniform Swap 8-10 a.m. and 3-5 p.m.

Tuesday 6/22: Last Day of School

5^th Graders Perform Hamlet at the Folger: Brent’s 5^th graders capped off their year-long partnership with the Folger Shakespeare Library by performing an act from Hamlet at the George Didden Shakespeare Festival on Wednesday June 2. Brent is lucky to be one of five schools on Capitol Hill to participate in this introduction to Shakespeare and the world of theater led by artist-educators from the Folger. The 5^th graders explored the language and world of Shakespearean England, learned about period costumes and stage combat, then performed in the Folger’s Children’s Festival. Congratulations to Brent’s 5^th grade thespians, and thank you to Ms. Vaugeois, Ms. Woodard and the parents for your support!

Birdwalk This Saturday: By popular demand, Mike Mangiaracina is offering a birdwalk in Fort Dupont Park this Saturday June 12 from 9-10 a.m. This walk will be appropriate for kids and parents of all ages, and we will keep a checklist of all the birds we see and hear in this wonderful urban park. Meet in the parking area off of Fort Dupont Drive, near the entrance at Randle Circle and Fort Dupont Drive, SE. Please e-mail Mr. Mangiaracina to RSVP so we know how many people to expect: mike.mangiaracina@gmail.com.

Enjoy the Wizard of Oz this Thursday: Support Brent’s talented young actors! Selected students from all grades will perform in Brent’s second annual school play, The Wizard of Oz, this Thursday June 10 at 6:30 p.m. The actors have been working hard after school almost every day for months to prepare for the big performance! The actors should arrive by 5:30 p.m. on Thursday to get ready, and should bring their costumes to school on Wednesday for the dress rehearsal. We’re looking for parent volunteers to help the actors get into costume and assist with crowd control on Thursday night; please contact Mrs. Miller at s.derr@yahoo.com or Ms. Homayoun at all4wski@yahoo.com if you can help.

Sign Up for the Brent’s Year-End Picnic and Nats Game: Celebrate Father’s Day and the end of the school year with a big Brent extravaganza on Sunday June 20! The festivities begin at Garfield Park (2^nd and F Sts., SE) with a picnic catered by Brent’s very own Powell family ($10 per person for the catered lunch; or you can bring your own picnic lunch at no charge). Then we’ll walk en-masse to the stadium and watch the Nationals crush the White Sox at 1:35 p.m. Each Brent student can receive two free tickets to the game (student + guest) and we’ll all sit together in the outfield; additional free tickets may be available. Please return your ticket request form to school so you can receive your free tickets on June 20, and you can purchase lunch tickets before and after school in the front hall. Contact Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov with any questions. See you there!

Chinese Teacher Welcome and Recognition: Let’s get ready to welcome our new Chinese Exchange Teacher! Ms. CUI Jiangwei (Ms. Cui – pronounced Tsway) will arrive in our community on August 7. We will need volunteers to host welcome events and to take her on sight-seeing expeditions in her new hometown. Please contact Tobie Meyer-Fong (tmeyerf@mindspring.com) if you have leads on a long-term apartment (or shared apartment) for Ms. Cui or would like to host her for the first few weeks. Ms. Cui is from the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province. Harbin is in China’s far northeast and is famous for its winter ice festival – and for freezing cold temperatures far below zero! It is near Russia, and in the early twentieth century, the city had a significant Russian minority population. Ms. Cui has been teaching Chinese as a foreign language and English at Harbin Anjing Elementary School. She has nine years of teaching experience and is very excited about joining the Brent community. She is skilled in Chinese arts, including painting, calligraphy, music, dancing – and cooking! Let’s all look up information on Harbin, Heilongjiang so that we can surprise Ms. Cui with how much we know about her hometown! Award for Ms. Yu: Our current Chinese teacher, Yifang Yu, received special recognition for her contributions at Brent and beyond at the Teachers of Critical Languages Program’s concluding workshop. Marianne Craven, the Managing Director of Academic Programs at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs celebrated Ms. Yu for her achievements and for exemplifying the Teachers of Critical Languages Program’s values. Congratulations to Ms. Yu!

Green Team News:Brent has been featured in the cover story of the May issue of the Chesapeake Bay Journal (www.bayjournal.com) for helping to decrease the pollution in the Anacostia River and Chesapeake Bay. Thanks to all students, parents and neighbors for your help in supporting and maintaining the green spaces around school!

Quality Family Time: National Get Outdoors Day, Kingman & Heritage Islands (near RFK Stadium parking lot #6), Saturday June 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy live music, rock climbing, canoeing, fishing, bird watching, golfing, biking, geocaching, and planting flowers along the Anacostia River. See www.kingmanisland.org or www.livingclassroomsdc.org. Beaches, Blues, Crabs and Bacteria, Koshland Science Museum (6^th and E Sts., NW), Saturday June 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Explore the importance of clean beaches, learn how water quality tests work, and get a close-up view of animals that are part of beach ecosystems. See www.koshland-science-museum.org. Bolivia Fest, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Saturday June 12 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Celebrate the arts and artisans of Bolivia and the Peruvian Island of Taquile with craft demonstrations and live performances. See www.nmai.si.edu. Flag Day Family Festival, Smithsonian Museum of American History Museum, Saturday June 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrate Flag Day with the actual flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner, enjoy live performances and hands-on activities.

Several Short Notes: Vote in the LSRT elections: Today is the last day to vote for LSRT parent reps. Bessie will be at school at 3:15 p.m. and from 6-6:30 p.m. with the ballot box, or you can submit your ballot to the box in the office. Each parent may vote for up to four people to represent Brent next year in this advisory board to the principal. Brent recycles: Please bring in your empty CapriSun and HonestKids juice pouches and Elmer glue sticks to the collection bins by the front desk or cafeteria until the end of the school year, and our Brent Recyclebots team will submit them for recycling. Music students: All students who have borrowed instruments from Brent must return them to Ms. McDowell by this Friday June 11. After-school music classes on Fridays have concluded for this year. All guitar and piano students need to schedule an individual session with Ms. McDowell. Health Department Award: From Nurse James: Brent Elementary has once again achieved a 100% immunization compliance rate for 2009-10. As a result, the Department of Health has awarded Brent Elementary School the immunization excellence award. Thank you Brent parents and staff for your consistent effort in maintaining our children’s immunizations! Exhibit night thanks: Ms. Basralian and Ms. Rouse would like to thank everyone for their hard work to make last week’s museum exhibit night a big success! Paper bags needed: Please donate brown grocery bags to Ms. Basralian, who can use them to send home student artwork. Swim and help Brent: The Capitol Skyline Hotel swimming pool has agreed to donate 10% to Brent if you use the code Brent Friends Swim when you sign up for a pool membership this summer. The membership costs $450 per family, and the pool is convenient (South Capitol and I Sts., SW), fun and is filled with Brent families! See www.capitolskyline.com or contact General Manager Jeff Ragonese at jragonese@capitolskyline.com or (202) 349-1550. Middle school meeting with Chancellor Rhee: Chancellor Rhee will meet with the Brent community at Jefferson Middle School (801 7^th St., SW) on Wednesday June 23 from 5-6 p.m. Uniform swap volunteers: We’re still looking for volunteers to help sort and distribute clothes for the uniform swap on Monday June 21 and Tuesday June 22, from 8-10 a.m. and from 3-5 p.m. Please contact Christy Birdsong at crobbins_73@yahoo.com or (202) 607-7350 to volunteer.

Monday-Tuesday 6/7-8: LSRT Elections (see article)

Thursday 6/10: The Wizard of Oz performance

Monday-Tuesday 6/21-22: Uniform-Free Days

Uniform Swap 8-10 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. (see article)

Exhibit Night This Thursday: Join us for Exhibit Night this Thursday June 3 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. when Brent becomes a museum featuring exhibits from each class. The evening will begin in the multipurpose room with a performance by the Glee Club and poem readings by students in 1^st grade, then families will visit exhibits in the hallways and classrooms throughout the school and talk with student docents about their class projects. Each class created exhibits focusing on their grade’s theme, such as an artist study of the author/illustrator Eric Carle, artist study of Jackson Pollock and Georgia O’Keefe, and exhibits featuring oceans, Aztecs, heroes, D.C. history, Colonial America and the Civil War.

Student Art Sale at Exhibit Night: Exhibit Night will also feature an art sale of student work. The 4^th grade art piece for Brent’s spring Gala (pictured) received so much attention and praise that the entire class is making six more framed portrait collages to sell at Exhibit Night. The portraits will be framed and offered for sale at a set price, and the proceeds will support the art program (and a bit for a celebration for the students’ hard work). Payment can be in the form of checks payable to the Brent PTA or possibly credit cards.

Dr. Wilhoyte Needs YOU!: The LSRT (Local School Restructuring Team) is an advisory board to the principal comprised of teachers, parents and a community representative and is primarily focused on looking forward to the long-term school plan and the budget. Four parents serve on the LSRT, and the only requirement is that you currently have a child enrolled at Brent. We are looking for parents who are interested in serving for the 2010-2011 school year. The LSRT elections will be held on Monday June 7 and Tuesday June 8. We will have tables set up in the morning and immediately after school and during the aftercare pickup. Parents will also be able to vote in the school office during other times those days. Please contact Bessie Thibodeaux-Belcher (besthib@aol.com) if you have any questions or if you would like to run for the LSRT.

Green Team News: Brent was awarded a $2,500 grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for the continued greening on the playground. These funds were earmarked for the permit-ready plans for an amphitheater and garden in the corner of the playground under the big pine trees. We hope to get this installed in the late Fall of 2010, pending another grant. Please enjoy the new green Adirondack chairs in the front side garden, which were funded by the Joe Corbi fundraiser! And please consider helping us water the gardens this summer. It’s lots of fun, your kids can help, and you get to enjoy the compliments of the neighbors as they walk by and watch the gardens flourish. We hope to get enough help that we would only need families for a week or so, about one hour a day or less. Please contact Heidi (Heidi.j.johnson@gmail.com) or Jacqueline (jemanuel@fs.fed.us) to sign up to help this summer. Butterfly News: The Monarchs are back! Exquisite Monarch Butterflies have been spotted in the Butterfly Garden on D St. Keep your eyes open as they feed on the colorful flowers. Can anyone find any caterpillars? Also look for the bees, which are all signs of a healthy and vibrant garden.

Meet With Chancellor Rhee at Jefferson Middle School: Chancellor Rhee has agreed to meet with the Brent community to discuss the current middle school reform as it relates to Brent. Her current draft proposal calls for Brent students to feed into Jefferson Middle School, and she will meet with us at Jefferson (801 7^th St., SW) on Wednesday June 23 from 5-6 p.m. All members of the Brent community are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Also, please review the Chancellor’s draft plan for Ward 6 middle schools and send your thoughts to Chancellor Rhee (michelle.rhee@dc.gov) or contact Ruey Timberg at rtimberg@gmail.com or Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov with comments and suggestions. See the “Building on Momentum: Ward 6 Middle Schools” report at the DCPS Web site for details (go to www.dcps.dc.gov, click on “Parents and Community” then “Community Initiatives”) for the proposal. The next Middle School Working Group meeting will be scheduled during the week of June 7.

2010-2011 PTA Officers Elected: Congratulations to the 2010-2011 PTA officers, who were elected at the meeting last Tuesday:

President – Daniel Holt

Co-President – Adondra Woods

Vice President – Dr. Cheryl Wilhoyte

Vice President – Khadija Amjad

Vice President – Janine Levin

Vice President – Melissa Williams

Corresponding Secretary – Felicia Shaw

Recording Secretary – Angela Stroschein

Treasurer – Adriel Bush

Ex Officio – Denise Diggs

Thanks to outgoing officers Ming-Yuen Meyer-Fong and Lisa Perry for their amazing year of service. Their dedication and hard work is sincerely appreciated. Lisa is moving on to help with the Spring Gala and Ming-Yuen is going to reintroduce himself to his wife and family!

Year-End Uniform Swap: Save money on uniform expenses and help other Brent families. We’ll be holding a uniform swap on Monday June 21 and Tuesday June 22 from 8-10 a.m. and from 3-5 p.m. Bring in your clean, gently used uniforms between 8-10 a.m. on June 21 and you’ll receive a coupon for each item donated (minus one, which is considered a donation to the Brent parent clothes closet) that you can exchange for uniforms donated by other Brent families in the size you expect your child to wear in the fall. June 21 and 22 will be no-uniform days to allow for our swap! Additional reminder: We ALWAYS accept uniform donations, even outside the swap. You can just drop off gently used uniforms at the front office, any time, any day. Uniform swap volunteers needed to help sort and distribute the clothes. Please contact Christy Birdsong at crobbins_73@yahoo.com or (202) 607-7350 to volunteer or with questions.

Quality Family Time: Imagination Bethesda, Downtown Bethesda (Woodmont Ave. between Bethesda Ave. and Elm St.), Saturday June 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children’s street festival celebrating the arts featuring live entertainment, hands-on creative activities for children 12 and under, face painters, roving performers and balloonists. See www.bethesda.org/bethesda/imagination-bethesda.  Jazz and Family Fun Day, Phillips Collection (1600 21^st St. NW), Saturday June 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday June 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In partnership with the DC Jazz Festival, the sounds of live jazz fill the galleries while families can visit an instrument petting zoo, listen to a story teller, and create artwork to take home. See www.phillipscollection.org. Washington Folk Festival, Glen Echo Park (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md.), Saturday June 5 and Sunday June 6 from 12-7 p.m. The 30^th annual Washington Folk Festival showcases the diversity of traditional music featuring performances by musicians, storytellers, dancers and craftspeople who represent cultures from throughout the world and all live in the Washington metropolitan area. See http://fsgw.org for details.

Several Short Notes: Please return library books: Please return all library books to the Media Center no later than Friday June 4. If any books have been misplaced or lost, please contact Ms. Woodard as soon as possible. Thank you. Volunteers needed for t-shirt sales: We’re still looking for a volunteer to help with Brent t-shirt sales and inventory over the summer and the next school year. This is a great way to get involved with Brent and get to know all of the families! Responsibilities include organizing the sale of t-shirts and school merchandise during the summer meet-and-greets and next school year, and you can make it easier by recruiting a few other volunteers to sell shirts just one day a month during the school year. Please contact Lisa Perry at lperrys@mac.com if you can help. Play rehearsal: There will be no play rehearsal on Thursday June 3 so everyone can attend the opening night celebration for our museum exhibits.

Monday 5/31: No School – Memorial Day

Thursday 6/3: Brent Exhibit Night, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday 6/10: The Wizard of Oz performance

Vote for Next Year’s PTA Leaders: Please join us at the last PTA general meeting of the year on Tuesday May 25 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. to vote on next year’s PTA leadership, learn more about the DCPS middle school proposal, get a PTA budget update, and hear from guest speakers representing the National PTA and the Capitol Hill Middle School Parents Group. While the grown-ups are meeting, the children will enjoy movie night and a healthy dinner.

Comment on the DCPS Middle School Proposal: Chancellor Rhee presented a draft plan for Ward 6 middle schools at a community meeting last week and would like feedback from families before the finalizing the plan by the end of June. The proposal would have Brent feed into a new program at Jefferson Middle School. See the “Building on Momentum: Ward 6 Middle Schools” report at the DCPS Web site for details (go to www.dcps.dc.gov, click on “Parents and Community” then “Community Initiatives”). Please review the proposal and send your comments to Chancellor Rhee at michelle.rhee@dc.gov. Chancellor Rhee has agreed to meet with the Brent community at Jefferson Middle School (801 7^th St., SW) on Wednesday June 23 at 5 p.m. Please contact Ruey Timberg at rtimberg@gmail.com or Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov with any middle school questions.

The Capitol as Art Studio for Brent Students: Brent is lucky to be located just blocks from the US Capitol, which provides students with a lot of special learning opportunities. Ms. Basralian and Ms. Hill are working on a collaborative project with Brent’s 3^rd graders to integrate their classroom studies of Washington, DC, with art. Together they took the 25 students on a walking trip to the Capitol to draw the building. In art class, they prepared by sketching various buildings and features of Washington, DC, before focusing in on architecture and specifically the Capitol. The students sprawled out in front of the Capitol with their large drawing boards to sketch the building and its architectural details.

Quality Family Time: Celebrate Hawaii, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Saturday May 29 to Monday May 31 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Celebrate Hawaiian culture during a three-day festival featuring hula-dancing lessons, lei-making workshops, Hawaiian cooking demonstrations, music, lectures, film and traditional Hawaiian games. See www.nmai.si.edu. Memorial Day Celebration, U.S. Navy Museum (at the Navy Yard), Saturday May 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn about our nation’s rich naval history through scavenger hunts and exhibit guides at the Navy Museum during Memorial Day weekend, and tour the display ship Barry to observe the inner workings of a US warship that served in the Cold War. See www.history.navy.mil. Put YOU in the Musical, National Children’s Museum (112 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Md.), Saturday May 29 and Monday May 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sing along with your favorite Broadway tunes, learn some classic dance moves, and explore the world as a stage as the National Children’s Museum celebrates musical theater. See www.ncm.museum/home/events. Free Summer Saturdays at the Corcoran, Corcoran Gallery of Art (500 17^th St., NW). Enjoy special events and free admission to the gallery every Saturday from May 29 to September 4. See www.corcoran.org/freesummersaturdays. Girls Make History Day at the U.S. Navy Museum (at the Navy Yard), Saturday June 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn about American history through activities based on the American Girl series, and meet authors Valerie Tripp and Jacqueline Dembar Greene, who will greet American Girl fans and sign books. Prizes will be awarded to anyone who chooses to dress as their favorite American Girl character. Please RSVP at (202) 433-6826. See www.history.navy.mil and click on “events” for details.

Several Short Notes: Buy labels and help Brent: Summer is almost here, and it’s a good time to label your kids’ stuff so it makes it back from camp, the pool and the beach. Order personalized labels with your child’s name from Stuck on You labels (www.stuckonyou.biz) and type in “Brent Elementary” when checking out so your purchase will earn funds for our school. No music lessons this Friday: Ms. McDowell will not be holding music lessons after school this Friday because many families will be leaving town early for the Memorial Day weekend. Please return library books: Please return all library books to the Media Center no later than Friday June 4. If any books have been misplaced or lost, please contact Ms. Woodard as soon as possible. Thank you. Volunteers needed for t-shirt sales: We’re still looking for a volunteer to help with Brent t-shirt sales and inventory over the summer and the next school year. This is a great way to get involved with Brent and get to know all of the families! Responsibilities include organizing the sale of t-shirts and school merchandise during the summer meet-and-greets and next school year, and you can make it easier by recruiting a few other volunteers to sell shirts just one day a month during the school year. Please contact Lisa Perry at lperrys@mac.com if you can help. Exhibit night next week: Mark your calendars for next Thursday June 3 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. when Brent becomes a museum featuring exhibits from each class. Student docents will be proud to discuss their classes’ creations, and Brent musicians will perform.

Monday 5/31 No School – Memorial Day

Thursday 6/3 Brent Exhibit Night, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Thursday 6/10 The Wizard of Oz performance

PTA Events and Year-End Festivities: Join Brent families for a day of festivities celebrating the end of the school year! The PTA is planning a giant year-end picnic followed by a school-wide trip to the Nationals game on Sunday June 20. Information and RSVP forms will be sent home in students’ backpacks – stay tuned. And please contact Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov if you have ideas or would like to help prepare for the event. Also, please join us at the PTA meeting on Tuesday May 25 from 6:30-8 p.m. for PTA elections and several interesting presentations. Children will enjoy a movie night with nutritious food and popcorn.

Middle School Update: This is it! At last, DCPS will lay out their current thinking on plans to improve middle schools in Ward 6 and they are looking for feedback from the community. Make your voice heard and let them know if their plans will meet the needs of YOUR FAMILY at the public meeting on Wednesday May 19 at Payne Elementary School, 305 15^th St., SE from 5-7 p.m.

Taekwondo Promotion: Brent students who have been taking Taekwondo after school had their promotion test and ceremony last week, and they earned their orange or yellow belts (see photo). Congratulations to our hard-working students!

Focus on Learning This Spring: It’s May and we have five more weeks of serious teaching and learning so remember EVERYDAY:

Be respectful of teachers and peers by being on time

• Wear your uniform* and closed toe shoes for safety
• Be in touch with the office if your student has special needs with which we can help

*If somehow your student is unable to wear a uniform, we have a Parent Clothes Closet of laundered pants and shorts for this or for emergencies.  We will ALWAYS call the parent first, but if we cannot get in touch with you, may we have your permission for a quick change so no instruction is missed?  Or do you want them to wait in the office until we reach you?

Brent Garden News: Check out the vegetable beds on the pre-k playground to see what is growing. Thanks to the teachers and classes who have been involved in planting and watering, including all pre-k 3, both pre-k 4, Mrs. Amjad’s and Ms. Pressman’s classes. Ms. Harding-Wright’s class had their first crop: sugar snap peas. Every child was able to eat a pea right from the garden and they loved them! Now that the weather is warmer, the plants are growing quite quickly. Check out the climbing beans and the morning glories that are growing on our Tee Pee in the Outdoor Classroom. See if you can find the fish in the pond. They are an experiment, along with some new plants and the solar-powered fountain, to see if the water will stay clear. And look for the sunflowers that are starting to pop up in the Rain Garden. They are currently little clumps of leaves along the 3^rd Street fence and garden fence area. Hopefully they will bloom before summer break!

Visit the Citywide Student Art Show: Six talented Brent students were selected to represent our school in the DC3 Collaborative Schools’ 2^nd Annual Art Show at the Sumner School Museum (17^th and M Sts., NW). The exhibit includes artwork by Brent kindergarteners Cian Fitzgerald, Nina Shaw, Ariana Townsend and 4^th graders Maribella Alvarado, Jada Carlisle (artwork pictured) and Danielle Garris. The students enjoyed the opening reception last week, featuring a performance by the Brent Glee Club, and the exhibit will continue at the museum through May. Please stop by the museum and see the Brent students’ artwork on display.

Quality Family Time: National Asian Heritage Festival, Pennsylvania Ave., NW, between 3^rd and 6^th Sts., Saturday May 22 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Enjoy craft exhibits, live performances, food, martial arts demonstrations, flash mob dancing and other festivities at the Fiesta Asia Street Fair.  See www.asiaheritagefoundation.org. Bicycle Safety Day, National Children’s Museum (112 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Md.), Saturday May 22 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Bring your own bicycles or tricycles and spend the afternoon decorating your bike, participating in a bicycle rodeo, and joining the Great NCM Bicycle Parade. See www.ncm.museum. Egg Drop Contest, College Park Aviation Museum (1985 Corporal Frank Scott Dr., College Park, Md.), Saturday May 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Design a device that will protect a large egg from breaking when dropped – then drop the egg onto concrete from a 20 ft. balcony and see if it works! Contestants must build their device at the museum with provided supplies, and the dropping begins at 2 p.m. Museum admission $4 for adults, $2 for children ages 2-18. See www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com. Healthy Food for You, Marian Koshland Science Museum (6^th and E Sts., NW), Saturday May 22 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn about healthy foods and how to incorporate them into your diet. Test for vitamins and minerals using hands-on food science experiments, taste nutritious drinks, and take home some healthy recipes. See www.koshland-science-museum.org/events. Caterpillar Hunt, Hillwood Manor Park (in Sligo Creek Park near New Hampshire Ave., in Montgomery County, Md.), Saturday May 22 from 10 a.m. to noon. Join an insect ecologist to look for caterpillars and other signs of life in lower Sligo Park. Families will be given containers then will fan out into the woods to collect inchworms, cankerworms, leaf rollers, tent caterpillars, cocoons and more and have your finds identified by the ecologist. See www.fosc.org for details and directions.

Several Short Notes: Help with the school play: We’re still looking for more parent volunteers to help the student actors during rehearsals for the Wizard of Oz or to help paint the props. The cast meets from 5-6:30 p.m. on most school days. Please contact Ms. Homayoun at all4wski@yahoo.com or Ms. Miller at s.derr@yahoo.com. Show thanks to our Chinese teachers: Help say a big collective thank you to Brent’s Chinese teachers by contributing to a Brick for Brent’s walkway in their honor. Contributions should be brought to Denise Diggs in the office. All donations are welcome. Please help show our appreciation for the amazing work that they have done this year! Buy Bricks for Brent: Would you like to provide a lasting tribute in the Brent walkway and help earn money for our school? Bricks for Brent are available again – you can buy a 4×8 brick for $85, which includes three lines of text of 18 characters each. The deadline is May 21 and forms are in the office. Volunteer to help with t-shirt sales: Volunteers are needed to help with Brent t-shirt sales and inventory over the summer and next school year. Responsibilities include organizing the sale of school merchandise during the summer meet-and-greets and next school year and delivery of online sales to students’ classrooms during the school year. Please contact Lisa Perry at lperrys@mac.com to volunteer. Recruiting student reporters: We’re working on the next issue of Brent’s student newspaper, The Brent Bears News, and we’re always looking for students who would like to write articles, take photographs, or draw cartoons or illustrations the newspaper. Any students who would like to submit an article or get an assignment are welcome to stop by Ms. Homayoun’s room on Wednesdays at 8:10 a.m. for the weekly BBN staff meeting. Help with Brent recipe book: We’d like to create a Brent recipe book as a fundraiser for the school, which will be a great opportunity to share your family’s favorite recipes and help Brent at the same time. We’ll do most of the work on the book in the fall, but are gathering a team now to get a head start. If you’d like to help create the book, work together to gather recipes from Brent families, or contribute your favorite family recipe to the book, please contact Melissa Williams at melwilliams5@verizon.net. Box Tops update: Please continue to collect your Box Tops for Education, which earns money for our school. The next submission deadline is not until the fall, so you can either hold onto the Box Tops until then or you can turn them in to the school now.

Tuesday 5/4: Meeting for Parents of the Wizard of Oz Cast

Stop by between 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Saturday 5/8: Special Bird Event for Brent at the Zoo

Monday 5/10: DC3 Collaborative Schools’ 2^nd Annual Art Show  Opening Ceremonies, 6:30 p.m. Sumner School, 17^th and M Sts., NW

Monday 5/17: Regular School Day  (make-up day from the snowstorm)

Monday 5/31: No School – Memorial Day

Brent Receives Prestigious Grant for Chinese Program: Brent will welcome a new exchange teacher from China in August, thanks to the Teachers of Critical Languages Program, funded by the State Department and administered by the American Councils for International Education. Only 17 schools across the United States were chosen (out of many applicants) to host a teacher for 2010-2011. We are extremely grateful to the American Councils for their generous support. We will need volunteers to give a warm Brent welcome to our new teacher in August. If you are interested in having the teacher over for a meal or accompanying her on a sightseeing adventure – or if you have leads on housing for her – please contact Tobie Meyer-Fong (tmeyerf@mindspring.com). Sadly, under the terms of the TCLP grant, our current exchange teacher, Ms. Yifang Yu, will be leaving us at the end of this year. We would like to honor her and Ms. Joanna Lijuan Xu (who teaches pre-k and k Chinese) with a “Brick for Brent.” Denise Diggs is collecting money for this purpose in the office. Please help show appreciation for our fabulous Chinese teachers with a small donation!

Attend a Special Bird Event for Brent This Saturday: To celebrate International Migratory Bird Day, Mr. Mangiaracina has arranged to have a special bird banding demonstration for Brent families at the National Zoo this Saturday, May 8 from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Birds will be caught in mist nets, banded and released by trained bird experts with the Migratory Bird Center, which is the best way to really see a wild bird up close. Brent families are also invited to join Mr. Mangiaracina on a morning birdwalk by the zoo at 8:45 a.m. before the banding demonstration. You and your children can participate in either or both of these events, but you must pre-register so we can plan ahead for the event leaders. Please complete the registration form and return it to school no later than Thursday May 6. Details and directions will be sent home to all registered participants. We hope to see you there!

Brent Artists Selected for Citywide Art Show: Six talented Brent students have been selected to represent our school in the DC3 Collaborative Schools’ 2^nd Annual Art Show at the Sumner School (17^th and M Sts., NW). The exhibit includes artwork by Brent kindergarteners Cian Fitzgerald, Nina Shaw and Ariana Townsend and 4^th graders Maribella Alvarado, Jada Carlisle and Danielle Garris. Brent families are invited to the opening reception from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. on May 10, where the Brent Glee Club will be performing (opening remarks, student performances and refreshments will be at 6:30 p.m.). Everyone is encouraged to attend the opening or see the exhibit throughout the month of May.

Congratulations on the DC-CAS: Congratulations to Brent students and teachers in grades 3-5 for such hard work on the DC-CAS! The students were energized and serious about mastering their tests after working so hard to prepare – and had a huge sense of accomplishment after they were completed. (See photo of third graders working with Ms. Bausmith to get ready for the math test.) Great job, Brent Star Bears!

School Play Update and Meetings: The cast list is up and Brent students are ready to start rehearsing for the Wizard of Oz, Brent’s second annual school play. There will be a meeting for parents of the cast this Tuesday May 4 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. If your child has been selected to participate in this year’s play, please stop by sometime during this hour to get important information regarding volunteering, responsibilities of cast/family, and general information on how to help make this wonderful production a success. If you attended the meeting last Friday with Ms. Homayoun, you do not have to attend the meeting this Tuesday. Rehearsals for the play will begin on Wednesday May 5. For more information, please contact Ms. Miller at s.derr@yahoo.com or Ms. Homayoun at all4wski@yahoo.com.

Show Appreciation to Brent’s Teachers: This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to show our thanks to Brent’s amazing teachers and staff. We’ve had an outpouring of support from Brent families who contributed food to the teachers’ breakfast on Monday or signed up to bring food or volunteer to help provide fruit and treats for teachers’ afternoon snacks on Wednesday or the pot-luck staff luncheon on Friday. We’re all set now with volunteers, but you can also show your appreciation for our teachers by bringing in flowers on Tuesday or by having your child bring in a letter, note, card or picture of thanks for their teachers on Thursday. Thanks for all of your help!

Quality Family Time: National Train Day, Union Station, Saturday May 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. See train equipment, model train displays, culinary demonstrations, live performances by Rocknoceros and the Ballou High School Marching Band, and other train-themed events.  See www.nationaltrainday.com/events/dc for details. Space Day, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, May 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meet astronauts and experts, hear a live up-link to the International Space Station, see giant LEGO creations and make your own spacecraft, design a 3-D model of a satellite and more. See www.nasm.si.edu for details. Ocean Origami, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Saturday May 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Learn how the ocean is a global system essential to all life and create your own ocean origami. Also, you can get the children’s book Cherry Blossom Friends signed by the author from 2:30 – 5 p.m. See www.mnh.si.edu/calendar.asp. Flumpa and Friends Live, National Aquarium (1401 Constitution Ave., NW), Saturday May 8 at 1 p.m. and at 3 p.m. This rock concert for kids combines music, movement and science fun facts about the wonders of biological, earth, and physical sciences. See www.nationalaquarium.com/calendar_may.html.

Several Short Notes: Playground update:  The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) is planning on installing the design on the existing soft surface of the playground this summer, and will get back to us regarding further plans for the Phase 2 area (the blacktop). Bricks for Brent: Bricks for Brent are available again, which is a great way to provide a permanent tribute and help support our school. You can buy a 4×8 brick for $85, which includes three lines of text of 18 characters each. The deadline is May 21 and forms are in the office. Contribute to the student newspaper: Any students who would like to contribute articles, photos or illustrations to the Brent Bears News, the student newspaper, are invited to come to Ms. Homayoun’s room on Wednesday mornings at 8:10 a.m. to get assignments for the next issue of the paper. Plenty of paper tubes: Thanks very much for donating your cardboard toilet paper and paper towel tubes to the art department. Ms. Basralian has all the tubes she needs now and doesn’t need any more donations. Enjoy baseball and support nearby school: Help fellow Capitol Hill school, Maury Elementary, with fundraising by buying tickets to the Washington Nationals game against the Orioles on Sunday, May 23 at 1:05 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and seats are located in sections 222-236. Download the ticket order form at www.mauryelementary.com.

 Thursday 4/29: PTA General Meeting, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Child care will be provided

 Monday 5/17: Regular School Day (make-up day from the snowstorm)

 Join Us at Thursday’s PTA General Meeting: Join us for the next PTA general meeting on Thursday April 29 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Children will enjoy dinner and a performance by the Great Zucchini or participate in the Books and Cooks program, where they’ll read stories then create the food featured in the books. Meanwhile, parents will discuss new PTA developments and talk about next year’s plans. This is a particularly important meeting to attend if you’re interested in running for PTA office, chairing a committee, or learning about other ways to help out next year.

Welcome Coach David: We are sad to say goodbye to Coach Sarah, who leaves Brent today to move to Atlanta. But before she left, she helped Brent recruit a great new coach to take her place next year. David Hidalgo has been an AmeriCorps Playworks program coordinator since 2008, where he integrated physical activity in to the school curriculum, coordinated sports leagues, and implemented a youth leadership program at Tyler Elementary School. He was captain of the men’s soccer team while a student at Catholic University of America and has also been a soccer coach and referee for children’s programs. Welcome Coach David! Also, Coach Sarah hopes that Brent families and students will keep in touch with her at sarahprewitt@hotmail.com. Thank you, Coach Sarah, for everything you’ve done for Brent and its students over the past two years.

Show Our Appreciation to Brent’s Teachers: Help show our appreciation for Brent’s amazing teachers! National Teacher Appreciation Week is next week, May 3 – 7, and we’d love to celebrate the Brent staff in a way we know they’d enjoy. The pot luck Staff Appreciation Dinner in February was a huge success, and this time we’ve planned a week filled with special events in their honor. Here’s how families can participate: Monday: Sign up to provide breakfast item (needs to be delivered to school by 7:30 a.m.) Tuesday: Have your child(ren) bring in flowers for their teacher. Wednesday: Sign up to provide fresh fruit or a baked good or other treat (delivered any time before the afternoon). Thursday: Have your child bring in a letter, note, card or picture of thanks for their teachers. Friday: Sign up to provide a lunch item for the staff luncheon. We also need at least two parents from each class to volunteer to cover lunch/recess for the day so our staff can enjoy the special lunch. Food should be delivered by 11:30 a.m., lunch coverage is as follows: pre-k 3 and 4: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; kindergarten and grade 1: noon – 1 p.m.; grades 2-5: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. All food should be labeled for allergy concerns. Contact Lisa Perry at lperrys@mac.com or (202) 544-2370 to sign up to bring food or volunteer to help. For more information, see the handout in children’s folders today or contact the room parent for your child’s class.

Support Brent’s Artists: Six talented Brent students will be representing our school in the DC3 Collaborative Schools’ 2^nd Annual Art Show at the Sumner School (17^th and M Sts., NW). Brent families are invited to the opening reception from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. on May 10^th, where the Glee Club will likely be performing (opening remarks, student performances and refreshments will be at 6:30 p.m.). Then the exhibit will run from May 10 to June 1, with visiting hours until 6 p.m.

Auditions for the School Play: Join the cast of Brent’s second annual school play, The Wizard of Oz! We’re looking for a cast of about 25 to 30 talented Brent students who are serious about learning their lines, singing and dancing, and acting. Auditions will be held on Wednesday April 28 and Thursday April 29 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria and the cast will be announced on Friday April 30. Rehearsals will begin on Monday May 3 and continue every day until the performance on Thursday June 10. This is going to be a great production – and a lot of fun! We’re also looking for parents to help with rehearsals, set design or copying the script. Please contact Ms. Homayoun or Ms. Miller for more information or to volunteer to help.

Submit Enrollment Forms by Friday and Enter the Raffle: Please hand in your enrollment forms and show your proof of residency at the Brent office by Friday April 30 so you can be entered into a raffle to win Nationals tickets or an in-studio professional photography session for your family. Thanks to all of the families who have already turned in their forms, which helps to ensure that every class is the right size. Please contact Denise Diggs at denise.diggs@verizon.net or (202) 355-5830 with questions.

Brent Friends Spotlight: While the upper-grade students focused on their DC-CAS tests last week, the younger students took field trips throughout the city, including a variety of Smithsonian museums, the zoo, and several destinations in the neighborhood. On one field trip, Ms. Copeland’s class went to Eastern Market and each student brought $5 to buy something. The students were then asked to write down what they bought, how much it cost, and how much money was left after their visit (see photo). A great way to learn math! Meanwhile, Ms. Levin’s class took a trip to the Botanic Garden and enjoyed a picnic in the beautiful spring weather (see photo).

Planting Season: Teachers are planting up the vegetable beds on the pre-k 3 playground. Check out Ms. Pressman’s, Ms. Amjad’s, Ms. Miller’s, Ms. Zydney’s and Ms. Harding-Wright’s plots. The Tee Pee in the outdoor classroom was planted with help from Ms. Amjad’s and Ms. Pressman’s classes two weeks ago. Beans and morning glories are starting to sprout! Thank you so much to all who came to help on Family Gardening Day this past weekend. We mulched all the tree boxes in the front and back as well as the gardens, cleaned out the pond and installed a pump that is powered by a solar panel, reinforced and painted the chicken-coop playhouse, planted and moved and cleaned up the alligator drum. Enjoy spring in the gardens!

Quality Family Time: Operation Ninja, International Spy Museum (800 F St., NW), Saturday May 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Learn about the secrets of the Ninja with a troop of martial artists who have studied the art of Ninjitsu. Children ages 10-14 will challenge their physical and mental skills to determine if they have what it takes to join the ranks of the Ninja spies. Tickets $25 per person. See www.spymuseum.org. Glen Echo Park Family Day (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md.), Saturday May 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy magic shows, family dancing, a May Pole, face painting, artists’ open studios and more. See www.glenechopark.org. Renwick Gallery Family Day (1661 Pennsylvania Ave., NW), Saturday May 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrate The Art of Gaman and Japanese American culture with music and dance performances, hands-on activities, garden journals, a museum-wide scavenger hunt, and traditional Japanese games. See http://americanart.si.edu/calendar.

Several Short Notes: Brent at the White House: On May 3^rd, Brent 5^th graders will be attending a reception for the Everybody Wins program at the White House! Also, this Wednesday is the last day of DC-CAS testing at Brent, when the 5^th grade students take the science test. Congratulations to all of our upper-grade students for working so hard on their DC-CAS tests! Taekwondo Promotion: The promotional test for the Taekwondo class will be held on Thursday May 13 at 4 p.m. in the multipurpose room. Everyone is welcome! It’s a great way for prospective Taekwondo students to stop by and see what the program is all about. Contribute to the Student Newspaper: Any students who would like to contribute articles, photos or illustrations to the Brent Bears News, the student newspaper, are invited to come to Ms. Homayoun’s room on Wednesday mornings at 8:10 a.m. to get assignments for the next issue of the paper. School calendar: Monday May 17^th was originally scheduled to be off for students for parent-teacher conferences, but will now be a regular school day to make up for the days missed from the snowstorm.

Saturday 4/24: Family Gardening Day at Brent, 9 a.m. – noon

Wednesday 4/28 – Thursday 4/29: Auditions for The Wizard of Oz, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Thanks for a Successful Brent Gala: Thanks to everyone for an amazing Spring Gala on Saturday night! We broke all previous Taste of the Hill fundraising records and had a wonderful time. So many members of the Brent community worked together to make the evening a success, including everyone who helped with class baskets and auction items, bought auction items, attended the event, or donated tickets for teachers – we raised enough money to cover tickets for all teachers and staff who wanted to attend the Gala. Thanks, too, to the restaurants and the Capitol Hill community for their donations and time (and delicious food and wine!) and to all of the students who helped sell raffle tickets. The top student seller was Andrew Timberg. Congratulations! Thanks to the teachers who helped put together the class baskets and the art work. And a very special thanks to Chris Floyd, Felicia Clark and the Gala committee, who worked so hard to create a successful event for our school (the Gala committee wrap-up meeting will be Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.). A note from the Brent staff: The Brent staff would like to thank the Gala committee for putting on such an amazing event. It was a memorable night that quickly has become one that the Brent staff looks forward to each year. Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication!

Help at Brent’s Spring Gardening Day: Help Brent’s gardens continue to look beautiful! Please join us at the Spring Family Gardening Day, this Saturday April 24 from 9 a.m. to noon. We’ll have some breakfast food, pizza for lunch, and crafts for the kids who don’t want to get dirty. This is a great way to enjoy a spring morning outside and work on some fun projects in the gardens. We welcome everyone’s help!

Brent Track Team: Brent’s talented track team competed in its second track meet at Spingarn High School last week (see photos). Thirty Brent students in grades 3-5 competed in the shot put, 100m hurdles and the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1600m individual events. The students did a great job! Brent’s next track meet will be on May 5 at Anacostia High School.

Goodbye from Coach Sarah: A message from Coach Sarah: Tuesday April 27, 2010, will be my last day at Brent as I am moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue other professional opportunities. The past two years that I’ve spent at Brent have been amazing. You and your children have changed my life and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with them. Please feel free to keep in touch with me at sarahprewitt@hotmail.com. Thank you for all of your support! –Coach Sarah

Good Luck on the DC-CAS: After working so hard to prepare, Brent’s students in grades 3-5 will be taking the DC-CAS tests this week. On Monday, they received their signing bonuses and their Brent Star Bear college class of 2021, 2022, and 2023 t-shirts and posted their promises in the front hallway. Be sure to get a good night sleep and start the day with a healthy breakfast to help you do your best work this week!

Work Together to Protect Students: An intruder breached security at the school on Monday with no harm done, but we are evaluating our security protocols to ensure that this does not happen again. Effective as of today, the school’s back doors (the D Street entrance) will remain locked from 8:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the gates to our playground secured by combination locks. Between those times, families and visitors must enter through the North Carolina entrance by Officer Howell. We look forward to working together to protect the safety of Brent students. We thank you for your understanding and your cooperation in this very serious matter.

Auditions for the School Play: Join the cast of Brent’s second annual school play, The Wizard of Oz! We’re looking for a cast of about 25 to 30 talented Brent students who are serious about learning their lines, singing and dancing, and acting. Auditions will be held on Wednesday April 28 and Thursday April 29 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. and the cast will be announced on Friday April 30. Rehearsals will begin on Monday May 3 and continue until the performance on Thursday June 10. This is going to be even more of a success than last year’s play, so we need full commitment both on the part of the students and parents who are involved. We have a short time to put on a great production! We will also have a lot of fun. See Ms. Homayoun for more information.

Hand in Enrollment Forms – Sign Up for Next Year’s Seat: If you haven’t completed your enrollment forms yet, please turn them in to Brent’s main office ASAP. If you did not receive an enrollment form in the mail, please stop by the main office and pick up an enrollment packet. Thanks to all of the families who have already turned in their forms, which helps to ensure that every class is the “right” size. Everyone who hands in their enrollment forms and shows their proof of residency at the Brent office by May 1 will be entered in a raffle to win Nationals tickets or an in-studio professional photography session for your family. If you have any questions, please contact Denise Diggs at denise.diggs@verizon.net or (202) 355-5830.

Quality Family Time: Shakespeare’s Birthday Party, Folger Shakespeare Library (201 East Capitol St., SE) on Sunday April 25 from noon to 4 p.m. Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday with jugglers and jesters, music and theater performances, birthday cake, and a tour of the Folger’s reading rooms. See www.folger.edu for details. National Arboretum Garden Fair (3501 New York Ave., NE), Saturday April 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy the National Arboretum’s annual plant sale and celebration for the whole family, which coincides perfectly with the blooming of the Arboretum’s 10,000 azaleas. See www.usna.usda.gov. Earth Day Clean-up at the National Zoo, Saturday April 24 from 8 to 10 a.m. Help the National Zoo celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up litter in a wooded area of the Zoo not often seen by the public eye. See http://nationalzoo.si.edu/activitiesandevents. Georgetown French Market, Saturday April 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between P St. and Reservoir Road. Visit the open air market featuring shopping, food, kids’ activities and special sales. See www.georgetowndc.com.

Several Short Notes: Volunteer to Chaperone: We’re still looking for more chaperones to help our K-2 classes on their field trips this Tuesday through Friday, while the upper-grade students are taking their DC-CAS tests. All parents, guardians and grandparents are welcome – you don’t need to have a child in that class to help. Contact densie.diggs@verizon.net if you can help. Buy Brent Stuff: We will continue to sell Brent t-shirts and merchandise on Tuesday mornings from 8 – 9 a.m. and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in the front hallway of the school. Checks preferred. Medium t-shirts are back in stock.

Wednesday 4/7: Middle School Working Group Meeting, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Thursday 4/8: Study Dance for all 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders in Room 208, 4:40 – 6:30 p.m.

 Middle School Options to meet your families’ expectations, with Ruey Timberg in the library, 6-6:30 p.m.

Saturday 4/17: Brent’s Spring Gala St. Mark’s Church, 3^rd and A Sts., SE, 6 p.m.

Monday 4/20 – Wednesday 4/28: DC-CAS testing for students in grades 3-5 (see below for full schedule)

Get Ready for the Gala: Brent’s Spring Gala, “Taste of the Hill,” is coming soon! Besides serving a great cause, the event is a fabulous celebration in itself, featuring food and wine from some of the area’s best restaurants, incredible auction items, and great live music. The Gala will be held on April 17 at 6 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church, 118 3^rd St., SE. This is our school’s biggest fundraiser — proceeds will help pay for our physical education teacher, Chinese program, enrichment classes, classroom supplies, professional development and other important programs. Tickets cost $75 and can be purchased in the school office in the mornings, or at www.buybrent.org or from Julie Santoboni at jsantoboni@gmail.com. You can also support Brent by buying raffle tickets — $10 each or three for $25 – which provide the opportunity to win Redskins tickets on the 30-yard line, Nationals tickets, a $200 gift card for several restaurants in Jose Andres’ ThinkFood Group, a $100 Harris Teeter gift card, an iPod Nano and an iTunes gift card. Students who sell 10 raffle tickets will get a Brent t-shirt or water bottle, and the student who sells the most tickets will win an iPod Nano. To be eligible for the prizes, tickets must be turned in to the office no later than April 14 in an envelope with the student’s name on the outside and a contact phone number. Please make checks payable to the Brent PTA. You can also help by donating to your class’s auction basket – check with your class’s room parent or teacher for more details.

 DC-CAS Schedule: Students in grades 3-5 will take the DC-CAS tests starting on Tuesday April 20. Testing begins at 9:30 a.m. every day, so please bring your students to school on time and make sure they’re well rested. Our 3^rd-5^th graders will take the English/language arts test on Tuesday and Wednesday April 20-21, the math test on Thursday and Friday April 22-23, 4^th graders will take the composition test on Tuesday April 27, and 5^th graders will take the science test on Wednesday April 28.

Aftercare Update: A message from Karen Neal, Special Education Coordinator and After School Program Coordinator: Three staff members from the aftercare program have left their positions and we have already hired one new teacher, Mrs. Browne, from the Sharpe Health Center, who starts on Tuesday. We are trying to get additional staff through the human resources process ASAP. Please be assured we will continue to make sure all students are actively engaged and safe during this transitional period. Thanking you in advance for your patience.

Brent Friends Spotlight: The caterpillars in Ms. Pierce’s pre-k 3 class turned into butterflies on the first day of Spring Break, and Ms. Pierce has been feeding them fruit and sugar water so that they’ll be alive when the kids return to school. “We’ve been studying Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and we’ll release our painted ladies into the garden when we return to school so they can help fertilize the flowers,” she says. “We also have a praying mantis egg and lady bugs (The Grouchy Lady Bug) arriving soon.”

Middle School Update: We are finalizing our Brent preferences for a high-quality, academic middle school for college-bound students that will attract and retain not only Brent families but also other city-wide students with shared goals. We will forward our recommendation to the Chancellor the first of next week. We will meet on Wednesday April 7 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. and again on Thursday April 8 at 6 p.m. (for any 3^rd-5^th grade parents picking up students from the DC CAS celebration) to receive your thoughts and prioritize the “big ideas” required to meet our expectations. What will it take to keep your family in DCPS for middle school? Please be in touch with Daniel Holt (daniel.holt@mail.house.gov; 202-225-0898) or Ruey Timberg (rtimberg@gmail.com; 607-643-3005) to provide input, ask questions, or discuss the issues.

Quality Family Time: The National Cherry Blossom Festival continues throughout the city until Sunday April 11. See www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org for a full schedule. This week’s special events include the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Saturday April 10 from 10 a.m. to noon on Constitution Ave. from 7^th to 17^th Sts., NW, and the 50th Annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival on Saturday April 10 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at 12^th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., NW (see www.sakuramatsuri.org for details). Family Day: Explore the Universe, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Saturday April 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Observe the sky through telescopes, build a pocket solar clock, and enjoy stories and activities for all ages. See www.nasm.si.edu/events for details.

Several Short Notes: Buy Brent merchandise:  You can still buy Brent t-shirts ($10 for t-shirts, $18 for polos), water bottles ($10) and car magnets ($5) every Tuesday from 8-9 a.m. or put a note and check in an envelope addressed to Lisa Perry in the PTA mailbox, with your child’s name and teacher, and Lisa will deliver your order to your child’s classroom. E-Cycle: Wondering what to do with your old computer or electronics? Hearst Elementary School (3950 37^th St., NW) is holding an e-cycle event on April 17 from 9 a.m. to noon to collect old or broken electronic equipment, which will be transported to Ft. Totten for recycling, and a free-cycle for folks who wish to donate working electronics they no longer use. For details, see www.hearstes.org. Enrollment packets: Please fill out your enrollment packet from DCPS as soon as possible and return it to the Brent office.

Wednesday 3/17: Meeting with Chancellor Rhee about Middle Schools, 5-6:30 p.m.

Joe Corbi pick-up, 2:30 – 6 p.m.

Friday 3/26: Early dismissal – school ends at 12:15 p.m.

March 29 – April 5: Spring Break

School resumes on Tuesday April 6

Chancellor Rhee Comes to Brent to Discuss Middle School: Chancellor Rhee will be meeting with the Brent community on Wednesday, March 17 to discuss middle school options and what comes after 5^th grade for Brent students. We encourage every member of the Brent community to attend the meeting in the multi-purpose room from 5-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday so the Chancellor will see that Brent is intensely focused on middle schools. Child care will be provided during the meeting, featuring entertainment by the Great Zucchini. Dinner will be available after the meeting finishes at 6:30 p.m. If you’d like to learn more about Brent’s effort to create additional middle school options or have ideas to share, please contact Ruey Timberg at rtimberg@gmail.com or Daniel Holt at Daniel.holt@mail.house.gov.

Joe Corbi Pick-Up on Wednesday: Thanks to everyone who participated in the Joe Corbi fundraiser! We earned $3,954 in profits, which will support Brent’s schoolyard greening programs, and we donated 105 pizzas and one tub of cookie dough to the Capital Area Food Bank. The winners of the individual sales contest were Andre Carter, from Ms. Harding-Wright’s pre-k 4 class ($805 in sales), followed by Kirbi Walker in Ms. Hill’s 3rd grade class ($642) and Nevaeh Garrett in Ms. Pressman’s 2^nd grade class ($614.50). Ms. Harding-Wright’s and Ms. Hill’s classes had the highest sales and will both receive an ice cream party. Pick-up your Joe Corbi items from 2:30-6 p.m. this Wednesday March 17; all items that are not picked up will be donated to the Food Bank.

Brent Publishing Party: Support Brent’s young authors at the Publishing Party on Tuesday March 16 from 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. Enjoy performances in the multi-purpose room, then visit the K-5 classrooms and hear students talk about the books they have written in class. You’ll have an opportunity to get autographs from the young authors, learn about their work, and celebrate their publishing success!

International Night Success: Thanks to everyone who participated in another excellent International Night! The food was delicious and incredibly diverse (and quickly disappeared!), the performances were wonderful, and the kids did such a great job in the fashion show (see photo). Thanks to all of the families who brought food, clothes and cultural items and helped with the festivities. Ms. Homayoun would like to give a special thanks to Ana Townsend, as well as Donna Holley-Beasley, Jessica Smith, Lisa Perry, Bettina Schewe, Ruey Timberg, Anne Webb, Heidi Johnson, Melanie Baskurt, Ms. McDowell and the Glee Club, Ms. Basralian, Ms. Rouse and Ms. Levin – and to everyone who helped make it a memorable evening! Did you leave wishing you had a bigger stomach in order to taste more of the exotic culinary creations? If so, tune in next week for more details about the First Annual Brent International Cookbook Fundraiser. If you presented a dish at the event or have favorite recipes from your ethnic heritage, please send a copy of your recipe with your name, the country it represents, any interesting cultural or personal stories about your dish and phone number to Melissa Williams at melwilliams5@verizon.net. She’ll be gathering recipes and Ms. Homayoun’s class has offered to illustrate a cookbook that we can sell as a fundraiser for the school. More to come about the Brent cookbook next week.

Springtime in the Garden: The flowers are starting to bloom in the Brent gardens! The tulips and crocus that were donated by the Capitol Hill Garden Club and planted in the fall are starting to bloom, along with the tulips in the rain garden that Brent mom Astrid Fitzgerald brought from Holland. You’ll also see tulips peeking up by the mural wall and several varieties of daffodils in the butterfly garden. Thanks to Arya Civil Engineering for repairing the rain garden fence for free. Be careful, and enjoy the flowers!

Recycling Update: Brent Recyclebots are hard at work making sure that we are all doing our part to reduce, reuse and recycle! Please be sure to recycle paper, plastics and milk cartons in your offices and classrooms. Every classroom should have a recycling bin and a Recyclebots sign. Please place recycling bins outside your classroom door before recess on Tuesdays and Fridays so that our Recyclebots can take them to the toters in the stairwells (or lend a helping hand and empty the canisters in the toters yourselves). Toters are taken to the recycling dumpsters adjacent to the teachers’ parking lot. Everyone can do their part to help out, so please encourage staff members, students and guests to recycle at Brent! Questions? Please contact Ms. McGonagle or Ms. Pierce.

Help Sponsor the Gala: Do you work for or know of a local business or organization that may be interested in supporting Brent’s Gala? We encourage all Brent families to help the Gala committee identify donors, corporations, organizations and businesses to become official sponsors of Brent’s 2010 Gala. Benefits of sponsorship include tickets to the event, placement of an ad/logo on the Brent Web site and in our Gala program, mention of the sponsor’s name by the MC at the event, and more! For additional information on sponsorship, please see the attached flyer that you are free to distribute. The flyer can also be found on the Brent Neighbors Yahoo page under: Files (left margin), 2010 Brent Gala, “Gala 2010 sponsor flyer.pdf.” And don’t forget to purchase your tickets to the Gala, which will be held on April 17 at 6 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church (118 3^rd St., SE.) Proceeds will help pay for our physical education teacher, Chinese program, enrichment classes, classroom supplies, professional development and other important projects. Tickets can be purchased at www.brentelementary.org/fundraisers or from Julie Santoboni at (202) 607-6762 or jsantoboni@gmail.com.

Before Care Procedures: Before care is a fun program that attracts about 20 children every day and it only costs $50 per month to make it affordable to everyone who needs it. Students may arrive in Ms. Levin’s room as early as 7:15 a.m. and are supervised there until free breakfast is served in the cafeteria at 8 a.m. But many families are forgetting to pay the monthly fee, and the PTA is losing money by offering this service. If your child uses the before care services, please submit your $50 check to Brent PTA each month by dropping it in the green mailbox in the office. Children who are in the school building before 8 a.m. must report directly to Ms. Levin’s classroom (118), where they can be supervised, until they go to the cafeteria at 8 a.m.

Quality Family Time: Kids’ Book Fair and History Day, The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum (201 South Washington St., Alexandria, Va.), Saturday March 20 from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Enjoy a book fair with Usborne Books, become history sleuths on a scavenger hunt, and explore what life was like in Alexandria 200 years ago during walking tours at 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. Book fair is free; walking tours cost $2 for ages 7 and up. For more information, see www.alexandriahistory.org. Elvis! Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW). This new exhibit opens Friday March 19 and looks back at the impact Elvis Presley had on music, popular culture and free expression. See www.newseum.org. Environmental Film Festival, March 16-28, features 155 films at 56 venues throughout Washington, DC, including several films of interest to kids, such as Up, Food Fantasies (a selection of children’s films), Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, American Eagle, and the Path of the Condor. Visit www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org for a schedule (click on kid-friendly under “search films”).